Life is Tough!

Title: Life is Tough!
Designer/Developer: Lisa Lee
Rules of the Game:
 Only a 2 player game.
 All 40 cards must be placed face down.
 Each player must have 20 tokens to start with.
 The player to the left goes first.
 Each player is given only one steal and revenge turn in one game.
 The player can steal double tokens only if the other player has used a steal
turn on them.
 Steal turn can only be used if player has gotten a match that is a type of bill.
 Revenge turn can only be used on any turn as long as the player matches
any type of bill and only if a steal has been used on them already.
 Each bill card has a certain amount of tokens that a player has to discard
from their token pile.
 Tokens aren’t used for matches that contain money cards.
 Money matches are put in the player’s stack of matches they’ve gotten.

 Even if player chooses to use their steal move, they have to put their
matching bill cards into their stack to.
 If player gets a match then they get one extra turn.
Items:
 40 playable cards
 40 tokens
 Paper
 pen
Mechanics:
 Take Turns.
 Steal Tokens.
 Take Revenge and Steal Double Tokens.
 Flip over cards.
 Match two of the same card.
MDA: In this game, the player has control of what two cards to flip over each
turn. The dynamics that this has is that money matches are the only matches that
count for the player in the end of the game. The aesthetics of this is when the
player gets a money match; it gives them a feel of success knowing that they are
on the right track to winning the game. The player also has control of whether
they want to pay a bill with their own tokens or use their steal move on the
opposing player. The aesthetics of this is that the player will feel a sense of being
in control of the game when they decide to steal from the opposing player.
Meaningful Decisions: This game has several decisions for the player to make.
The player starts by choosing which two cards to flip over to try to match them. If
the player matches two bill cards, they will have a choice to make. They can
choose to give up the required amount of the bill from their token pile and keep
the match or take the required amount of tokens from the opposing player and
keep the match. This is where the choice comes in of whether the player wants to

use their one and only steal turn or save it for a later turn. This decision is only
available to the player if they match two bill cards. If the player decides to use
their steal turn then the other player can take revenge on them for stealing their
tokens. The player that has used their steal turn could lose double tokens if the
opposing player gets a bill match and decides to use their one and only revenge
turn. Revenge turn is only active for the player if they have gotten a steal turn
used on them and if they get a bill match on any of the remaining turns in the
game. The player losing double tokens means that the game could end soon and if
they aren’t in the lead with money matches then they could lose if they run out of
tokens. In the game, the player loses tokens when a bill match is made, but has a
chance to gain the upper hand in the game when they get a money match.
List of Completed Playtests:
Playtest #1:
Observer Name: Lisa Lee
Test Date: November 30, 2015
Player 1 Information:
Tester Age: 10
Tester Gender: Female
Tester Gaming Experience: Casual (1-2 hours a week)
Tester Age: 17
Tester Gaming Experience: Extremely Casual (1 or less hours a week)
Test Time
The time of the first playtest lasted 15 minutes.
Impression Questions
Question Tester Answer

What is your first thought upon the start of the
game?
Player 1 said that the game seemed like it
was going to be a fun game.
Player 2 said that the game seemed like it
was going to be interesting because it wasn’t
just a match game because of tokens being
involved.
What appeals to you in this game? Player one liked that the game theme was
about bills and money.
Player 2 liked that the game was simple to
play.
Is there anything you would change at this
point? What and Why?
Player 1 said that they wouldn’t change
anything about the game and had fun playing
it.
Player two said that something else should be
added when the player matches up bill cards.
Exploratory Question
Specific & End of Test Questions
How difficult was it to figure out the rules? Player 1 said that the rules were easy to
follow.
Player 2 said that the rules were easily
explained and simple to follow.
(End of test question) Is there anything that
you (the play tester) would like to see
included in the game and why?
Player 1 said that they liked the game the
way it was.
Player 2 said that they would like to see
something interesting added with the tokens
besides just taking one away when they get a
bill match.
General Exploratory Questions
(General)How clear was your goal for this level?
Player 1 said that the goal of the game was very easy to understand.

Player 2 said that the goal was very clear to them.
(General)How difficult was it to play the game?
Player 1 said that the game wasn’t hard to play at all.
Player 2 said that the game was very easy to play.
Notes:
Player 2 suggested that the tokens be used in a more interesting way. Player 2 also said that
they would like to see something else interesting that happens when they get a match that has
bills on it.
Playtest #2:
Test Date: December 2, 2015
Tester Age: 23
Tester Gender: Male
Tester Age: 30
Tester Gender: Male
Test Time
The time of the second playtest lasted 10 minutes.
game?
Player 1 said that the game looked like it was
going to be ok to play.
going to be interesting to play a match game
that they could only win if they had more
money matches than the other person.
What appeals to you in this game? Player 1 liked that the game wasn’t about

how many matches that you can get. It was
about who had the most money matches.
Player 2 liked that the tokens were a part of
the game when bill matches were made.
Player 1 said that they thought the something
else should happen when the player gets a
bill match.
Player 2 said that the game was fun to play
and that he couldn’t think of anything that
needed to be changed.
How difficult was it to figure out the rules? Player 1 said that the rules were easy to
follow.
Player 2 said that the rules were easily
explained and simple to follow.
Player 1 said that they just wanted to see
more that the player could do when they get a
bill match.
Player 2 said that they liked the game and
didn’t have anything to add to the game.
Player 1 said that the goal of the game was clear to understand.
Player 2 said that the goal was clear to understand.
Player 1 said that the game was easy to play.
Player 2 said that the game was simple to play.

Notes:
Player 1 suggested that something else should happen when they get a bill match.
Playtest Pictures:

Playtest #3:

Tester Age: 21
Tester Gender: Male
Tester Age: 25
Test Time
The time of the third playtest lasted about 20 minutes.
game?
going to be interesting to play.
going to be fun to play because it had more
involved than just a match game.
What appeals to you in this game? Player 1 liked that the special turns (steal and
revenge) that they could use in the game.
Player 2 liked that there was more to do in the
game than just matching cards.
Player 1 said that they didn’t see anything
that they wanted to change.
Player 2 said that the game was interesting to
play and didn’t see anything to change.
How difficult was it to figure out the rules? Player 1 said that the rules were simple and
easy to understand.
Player 2 said that the rules were easy to

follow.
Player 1 said that they liked the game and
they couldn’t think of anything that they would
want to see.
Player 2 said that they enjoyed playing the
game and didn’t have anything to add.
Player 1 said that the goal of the game was easy to understand.
Player 2 said that the goal was simple to understand.
Player 1 said that the game was simple to play.
Notes:
N/A
Playtest #4:
Tester Age: 13
Tester Age: 16
Test Time
The time of the third playtest lasted 25 minutes.

game?
Player 1 said that this looked like a fun game
to play.
Player 2 said that the game looked cool to
play.
What appeals to you in this game? Player 1 liked that they could steal from the
other player.
Player 2 liked that they could steal and take
revenge on the player.
Player 1 said that the game was cool the way
it was.
Player 2 said that the game was fun the way
it was and that they would play it again.
How difficult was it to figure out the rules? Player 1 said that the rules were simple for
the game.
Player 2 said that the rules were easy to
understand.
Player 1 said no to this question.
Player 2 said that they had fun playing the
game, but said the special turns should be
kept track of in the game.

Player 1 said that the goal was easy to understand.
Player 2 said that the goal was clear to understand.
Player 2 said that the game wasn’t hard at all to play.
Notes:
In this playtest session, there was some confusion about who used their special turns and who
didn’t. One of the players suggested keeping tracking of this somehow.

This game keeps the player in flow from turn to turn, which then the curves stay
pretty much the same with the actions being similar in each turn. The actions do
get increased when it comes to having a chance of using the special turns in the
game and when money matches are made.
Flipping over cards: From the start of the game, the player’s interest was ramped
up because of not knowing if they are going to get a match and not knowing what
type of match will it be (money or bill match).
Getting a bill match: When the player flipped over a bill match, this brought the
interest down a bit because they knew they were going to lose tokens. They knew
that losing tokens fast will result in the game ending and they didn’t have any
money matches yet.
Chance to use a steal turn: The player’s interest goes up because they get a
chance to use their steal turn, which is a fun moment in the game.
Chance to get revenge: This is another area that the player’s interest goes up
because they have come across a chance to use their revenge turn against the
player that used their steal turn on them. This is like payback for the player and
puts a twist in the game.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Flipping over
cards
Getting a bill
match
Chance to
use steal
turn
Chance to
get revenge
Getting a
money
match
Losing
tokens
Life is Tough Interest Curves
Interest

Getting a money match: The player getting a money match was an exciting
moment for the player because this meant they could win the game.
Losing tokens: Losing tokens didn’t give the player much interest because this
meant they could run out quick and not have a chance to get money matches.
After playtesting, these were around the interest curves that I was getting from
the players and I even played the game myself and had about the same interest in
all areas of the game. The only main difference with my view is my interest was
higher in the losing tokens area because I was in the lead with money matches
and wanted to run out of tokens, so the game could end and I could win. I believe
that this area could play out as a player’s advantage or disadvantage depending
on if they are in the lead with money matches or not.
The interest curve result that I received was a good result for me because it
showed that the player’s interest was high in most of the areas. My game kept
the player immersed into the game and they didn’t get too bored or to annoyed
with the game. The pace of the game seemed to work out well for the players
that played it because there was steady movement back and forth with every
turn.
Feedback Loops and Reward Structures: In this game, the reward system is very
simple to understand. In this game, the players are rewarded by getting a money
match by successfully flipping over two of the same money card. The player is
punished when they get a bill match because they lose tokens. They are also
punished if they use a steal turn because they will lose double tokens if the other
player decides to use their revenge turn. The rewards that the player is given is
money matches (Lottery money or Paycheck money) and this reward is given
when the player matches two of the same money cards when it’s their turn to
play. When the player gets a money match, they are excited and ready to take
their extra turn to try to get another one.
There are simple feedback loops in this game being it’s a matching style card
game. The simple positive feedback loop is the player flips over two cards trying

to get a match, player gets a money match, and player gets rewarded by getting
the money match.
The simple negative feedback loop is the player flips over card trying to get a
match, player gets a bill match, and player has to give up a certain amount of
their tokens.
Other Notes:
The player can get a piece of paper and pen to write down each player’s name
and write each special turn under each player. When a player uses a special turn
then they can cross it out on the paper. This will help the players know who has
used what special turn, so there isn’t any confusion and accusing about someone
claiming they have used their turn when they haven’t.

Life is Tough!

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